A Westport school bus driver who was suspended in October after he was accused of making sexually explicit comments to Coleytown Middle School students, was arrested in November and charged with risk of injury to a minor, a felony.
Daniel Florio, 44, of Norwalk, was accused of talking about sexual acts and making threatening remarks to the students on his bus to and from school on Oct. 18. The students on the bus were between the ages of 11 and 13, police said.
Florio was suspended by Dattco, the town's school bus company, following the afternoon bus run after several complaints from parents were received.
Although Florio was suspended the same day, many parents lashed out over the incident, saying Florio should have been suspended following the morning bus ride after students allegedly made complaints upon arrival at school.
Florio’s behavior on the afternoon bus run was allegedly so distressing that many of the students got off the bus before their scheduled stops, parents told the Board of Education at its Oct. 22 meeting. Other students were said to have gotten off the bus in tears.
Florio, who has since been fired by Dattco, turned himself in to Westport police on Nov. 20. In addition to risk of injury, he was charged with threatening and breach of peace, both misdemeanors. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is scheduled to appear in Norwalk Superior Court on Jan. 22.
Following the incident, Superintendent of Schools Elliott Landon announced that the district has updated it's policies for dealing with complaints made about bus driver behavior. Landon said if a complaint is made in the future, the district will immediately, in writing and via phone call, notify Dattco of the complaint and request the driver be immediately suspended pending the outcome of an investigation.
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